449507 Wed Oct 10 10:42:42 -0700 2007 15 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 3021819 I'm allergic to seafood - ALL seafood. Doctor says I can't eat ANY seafood at all, including all fish and even seaweed. Is there any sushi item that I can eat or am I out of luck? Wed Oct 10 10:42:43 -0700 2007 128646 lydiainflorida 1 3021928 Many of the places I've been to in the last couple of years have soy based wrappers that they'll use in place of the traditional nori for rolls. There are also a wide variety of vegetables and other items that you might enjoy. Tamago, an omelette is a common ingredient (though you should check and make sure there's no fish of any kind in it...i'm not sure whether there is traditionally). Many places have shitake mushrooms, asparagus and more often now, mango. They'll all have cucumber and avocado at this point. You may have to hunt around a bit for a place that has a wide variety of things you'd like, but you're certainly not out of luck entirely. Wed Oct 10 11:03:50 -0700 2007 3021819 80141 ccbweb 1 3021944 Like ccbweb said, you can have your roll wrapped in soy paper. I sometimes prefer it to nori. I'd stick with veggie based rolls -- my favorite sushi place offers tamako roll with sprouts, carrot and cucumber, as well as vegetable tempura roll, cucumber roll, and vegetarian roll with marinated tofu and veggies. Wed Oct 10 11:08:28 -0700 2007 3021819 12384 boogiebaby 1 3022026 Make sure you ask...some tamago is prepared with a little bit of fish stock in it. Wed Oct 10 11:26:49 -0700 2007 3021819 13700 ricepad 1 3022591 There are avocado rolls, and also oshinko rolls -- japanese pickles. We often eat pieces of Inari, which is bean curd wrappers with rice inside. Sort of on the sweet side. I save it for the end. Wed Oct 10 13:44:59 -0700 2007 3021819 10205 valerie 1 3024621 depending on your sensitivity i'd also ask if he would change his knife/board/mat sometimes you can get tempura yam rolls too Thu Oct 11 07:48:43 -0700 2007 3021819 96253 chocabot 1 3025159 Much of Asian cuisine has some "hidden" seafood content, including dried shrimp and oyster extract, and it truly is impossible to tell from looking at the dish or by selecting an "obviously" seafood-free dish. And, in your situation, I wouldn't even dare judge by questioning a server or even a cook - between the language/culture barrier, and the fact that some seafood content may be way back on an ingredient label on one of the components. Make your own, and you'll be safer. And that's not really all that hard. Thu Oct 11 10:04:29 -0700 2007 3021819 14479 wayne keyser 1 3025730 the best vegetarian sushi i'd ever had was an eggplant that was roasted to a nice soft texture. it was sauced similarly to eel and made a great replacement for it. hard to say if the sauce could potentially have had any seafood essence in it. Thu Oct 11 12:20:29 -0700 2007 3021819 10634 pinstripeprincess 2 3026609 The eggplant sounds good -- the best I've had was a similar treatment of a broiled shitake mushroom on top of rice. It was tied with seaweed, but you could use something else. Thu Oct 11 15:46:19 -0700 2007 3025730 12460 Chowpatty 1 3026624 Sushi refers to vinigared rice. Many if not most traditional sushi did not have fish or seafood, save for the nori. As mentioned above, inari zushi using aburage--deep fried tofu "bags"--is very traditional. Look for info on traditional sushi. Thu Oct 11 15:50:17 -0700 2007 3021819 36661 Sam Fujisaka 2 3026647 "Many if not most traditional sushi did not have fish or seafood, save for the nori. As mentioned above, inari zushi using aburage--deep fried tofu "bags"--is very traditional. Look for info on traditional sushi." Um, almost. The aburaage I have seen used in inari zushi is seasoned, generally by being simmered in a combination of shoyu, mirin, and dashi. That is, fish stock. Thu Oct 11 15:57:09 -0700 2007 3026624 13445 Louise 3 3026698 You're right. Even I do that, and I forgot. Anyway, one can simmer the aburage in a non-fish stock. Thu Oct 11 16:10:59 -0700 2007 3026647 36661 Sam Fujisaka 1 3026660 if you're extremely allergic - as in, eating it will cause anaphylactic shock - then you should NOT, under any circumstances, risk eating food prepared at a sushi joint, period. i know it sucks, but there's just no way to guarantee that they can prepare all your food on surfaces that are completely contaminant-free, using utensils and ingredients that haven't been tainted with the allergen. your only truly safe bet is to make your own. you can buy sheets of soy paper to stand in for the nori [seaweed]. Thu Oct 11 16:00:42 -0700 2007 3021819 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 3026972 This is really very sound advice. Good catch on this one everyone who has said this. In some restaurants the can get a clean pan and a clean pair of tongs and move on...but in a sushi bar, there's really no way to make certain everything is totally free of any seafood product. Thu Oct 11 17:49:44 -0700 2007 3026660 80141 ccbweb 2 3028252 Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll stick to making my own. I had a serious attack one time (after several minor ones over the years) and that was when I found out about my allergy. Better safe than sorry I guess! Fri Oct 12 08:24:01 -0700 2007 3026660 128646 lydiainflorida 3 3029013 if you had a serious attack, it means your body might continue to mount more violent immune responses to the allergen every time you encounter it. so, PLEASE, for your own safety, just stay out of sushi places. my mother has an incredibly severe/fatal seafood allergy exactly like yours...to anything that comes from the sea. if she even smells fish her throat begins to get scratchy & swollen. and if she somehow accidentally it, we have the epi-pen standing by. Fri Oct 12 11:18:46 -0700 2007 3028252 103920 goodhealthgourmet